Wayhaven Traveller

Sunday, March 18, 2018

A Band of Gold

356-1107, aboard Golden Dawn, in hyperspace between Kedron and Leven

--from the personal journal of Baronet Atopia Kesslering

Well, I figured that Commander Greene of Imperial Naval
Intelligence wasn’t going to be happy with the outcome of my mission to
Sebou.I was right.In fact, he seemed downright disappointed
with the performance of both my crew and me.I want to think that it was the news about Lt. Turner that had soured
his mood, but I can’t quite convince myself of that.So, I’ll just tell myself that I was handed a
busted mission and did the best I could with it.

Kedron was quiet but pleasant.It’s an automated refueling station situated
on an airless rock that cracks hydrogen and oxygen from the crust to supply
fuel for scout ships and gypsy merchants like Dawn in the name of
interstellar communication and commerce.Dorian Clark runs the operation there with his wife Tina and two
children, Nora and Wyatt.With two
playmates nearly her own age, Olivia made the most of our layover.The quiet time was a welcome relief from the
tension of the mission.

We caught two freighters in port and convinced them to
delay their departures until the Dawn could dock, as we had passengers who were
eager to find quick passage off an otherwise deserted starport.The other ships didn’t waste any time clearing port once
our former passengers were aboard, leaving me to cope with a lack
of financial opportunities.

We have one passenger for this trip – a drifter by the
name of Kiara Atari.She paid for a low
passage ticket with a wad of small denomination Imperial currency, some of
which looked like it had been in circulation since His Majesty Emperor Gavin
had sat the Iridium Throne.But, she’d
been good company on Kedron, so I offered to let her sleep in one of the middle
cabins so long as she was willing to eat what the crew was having.Having already sampled Samantha’s cooking,
she accepted.

One thing I will say about Kiara, the young lady can saw
a log with the best of them.She went to
bed right after dinner last night and didn’t get up until nearly lunchtime
today.I guess it’s been a while since
she’s had a decent and secure place to sleep…

358-1107, aboard Golden Dawn, in hyperspace between Kedron and Leven

Atopia was pouring over her financial
programs in her office just off the bridge when an intercom call by her
daughter brought her back to the real world.“Mom and Sir Winston, Samantha wants you both to come to the passenger
commons immediately.She thinks there’s
something wrong with Kiara.”

Atopia was less than three steps behind
Winston as they both hustled down the stairs from the crew cabins, then through
the central passageway on the middle deck to the other stairwell down to the
lower deck.The former Navy doctor was
wearing suede slippers, scrub pants and a bathrobe that would have had the ship’s
captain thinking much more pleasant thoughts under other circumstances.More importantly, he was carrying his black
medical bag.

Winston wore a serious expression as he read
the display of his medical analyzer.Kiara lay quietly bundled up in a comforter on the bunk of the cabin.She was still wearing her clothes.Her breathing was slow and slightly irregular,
occasionally not taking a breath for a span of a dozen seconds or more.He took a penlight from his bag and peeled
open Kiara’s eyelids.The irises
reacted, but sluggishly.

He traded the penlight for an auto-injector,
altering its setting to draw blood and inserting an empty ampule before
pressing it to a vein near Kiara’s elbow.When the ampule was full, he sealed it.“I’ll need to run some tests,” he said, “but she might be having some
form of seizure.Until I know more, quarantine
this cabin.Olivia, go tell Tabitha to
monitor Kiara with the security camera.If my patient stirs or starts convulsing before I get back, come running.”

An hour later, Winston stopped by the
computer room where Tabitha, Atopia and Olivia were watching Kiara.“She hasn’t moved a micron since I started
watching her,” Tabitha said as he stepped in.Atopia glanced meaningfully at Olivia then back at Tabitha.Tabitha nodded as she rose from the computer
terminal.“Come on, kiddo,” she said as
she took Olivia’s hand, “Since there’s so much open space in the cargo hold,
let’s spar for a bit.”

After the hatch slid shut behind them,
Winston, who had traded the bathrobe for a scrub shirt and a lab coat, pulled a
datachip from a pocket and slotted it in the computer console.A display screen lit up next to them and
Winston referred to it as he spoke.“Our
passenger has been poisoned,” he said with a dour expression.“It’s some kind of neurotoxin, but I can’t
find a match in my dataslab’s medical database.”

Atopia touched the screen, enlarging a
section.An object clung to a corpuscle –
artificially angular with jagged projections from a central mass.“A nanite?” she asked.

“Microsurgical,” he replied with a nod.He scrolled the image to the right until he
found another one like the first with an odd, cradle-like structure on one
side.“They use nanites like these to
fight aggressive cancers,” he added.“That
structure on the back of it usually carries a micro-ampule of medication
directly to the cancerous cells.The
nanite grabs a cancer cell and drives the ampule in the cradle into the cell
membrane.Body heat or the act of
implantation fractures the ampule and the cancer cell dies.”

“So somebody’s repurposed these nanites?”
asked Atopia.

“Yeah,” said Winston, “the ampule carries the
toxin.Each nanite delivers a quarter-microliter
to a nerve cell, killing it.Get enough
of them into someone’s body, they’ll do the job – slow but steady.I’m guessing that’s what’s happening to Kiara
right now.”

Atopia’s brow furrowed.“Is there anything you can do for her?”

Winston nodded as he handed her another
datachip.“I need you and Valo to build
me an adjustable micro-pump and micronic filter unit.If we’re lucky, there will be nanites that
haven’t delivered their ampules yet in her spinal column.When it’s ready, I’ll tap it into her spinal
fluid and circulate it.Once we get
enough of the nanites that still are carrying the toxin, I should be able to
concoct a targeted anti-toxin to counter any that’s left in her system.”

“No,” he said, “but once we get her stable,
we’ll put her in a low berth and get her to Belaya.It is tech level fourteen there, so they
should be able to do neuro-regenerative treatments.She won’t be as good as she was, but she
should be functional and productive again.”

“But how did she get poisoned in the first
place?” asked Atopia.“Who would want to
do it to her?

“No clue,” said Winston with a shake of his
head, “but we need to find out.Before
you get started on your project, I want you to print up and physically sign an authorization
for Samantha to go through Kiara’s personal effects.While you’re doing that, I’ll get our steward
properly attired for a potential Level 4 biohazard situation.”

An hour later, Samantha was in the cargo
hold, unloading a caustic stream of vitriol as Winston helped strip off the
hazmat gear she’d donned for the search of Kiara’s belongings.“Little bitch would’ve put me to shame in my
youth,” she said as Atopia handed her a shooter of whiskey.Samantha tossed it down and made a face.“Definitely not the Marquis’ brand,” she commented as she handed the shooter
back.

“What are you talking about?” asked Winston
as he worked on removing barrier tape from the tops of her boots.

“I grew up on the Streets Without Pity,”
replied Samantha, “which is one of the worst and poorest slums on Oya.You steal to survive there and fight to keep
others from taking it away.Kiara’s bag
is filled with things that she stole from other people, including a few things
from this ship.I was keeping an eye on
her because she’s got the look, you know?And she still scored enough junk from us to pay for a low passage ticket!”

Samantha paused to shake her head.“I used to think I was good back in the day;
but not anymore.”She looked at
Atopia.“This is on me, your ladyship.I dropped the ball.”

“I was the one who invited her in to live
among us,” said Atopia as she steadied the steward while Winston peeled a
hazmat boot off her foot.“The fault is
mine.Did you find anything else?”

Samantha looked over at a diminutive
foam-wrapped package on a work table nearby.“It’s cold to the touch,” she said, “like it has dry ice in it or
something.”

“Thermo-stabilizer overwrap,” said Winston as
he pulled off Samantha’s other hazmat boot with a grunt.“It’s high-tech stuff used to package organs
and highly perishable medicines for transport.”

“How does it manage to stay so cold?” asked
Samantha as she sat down on a work stool.

Winston was about to say something, but
stopped with his mouth open and then made a face and swore.He threw the boot he was holding into the
waste container.“The packaging is
impregnated with nanites,” he said at last.“Sonofabitch!”

“So Kiara was either the mule for it or stole
it from another mule,” said Samantha.

“Yeah,” said Atopia through a frown.“Winston, the pump and filter are ready and we
need Kiara alive to find out who she stole this from.These nanites are an assassination
weapon and the Ine Givar have a track record of targeting nobility just before
a meeting of the Moot.”

“Right,” he said.“I’ll meet up with Valo on the way and get to
work.”

361-1107, aboard Golden Dawn, in hyperspace between Kedron and Leven

>SHIPBOARD TERMINAL ON

>ENTER COMMAND:

] Secure Connect

>WORKING. . . DONE – TERMINAL ONLINE IN
SECURE MODE

>ENTER COMMAND:

] Create Secure Text File – Label “SECTEX361-1107.01”

>READY. ENTER TEXT.

TO: His Grace Sector Duke Wymark Gascoyne,
Ruler of Wayhaven Sector

Gascoyne Hold, Belaya

FROM: Baronet Atopia Kesslering, Defender of
the Imperium

Your Grace:

Attached to this file are data files from Sir
Winston Blakely, M.D., to support my initial findings in this urgent matter
that I bring to your attention.I
believe that you and your wife, Countess DyotaEffernelli have been targeted for
assassination by a terrorist cell of the Ine Givar.

During our voyage from Kedron to Leven, we
took aboard a passenger, Kiara Atari, a drifter and petty thief.She was subjected to a type of weaponized
nanite that employs a synthetic slow-acting neurotoxin that nearly claimed her
life.According to her account, she and
a fellow drifter called Vaughn worked together on Cahabon to steal a pair of small
packages that were wrapped with a thermo-stabilizer material from a traveler at
the starport there.

The pair opened one of the packages and found
a woman’s ring made of white-gold with rubies and diamonds that bears the
emblem of House Effernelli.In a
celebratory tryst, Kiara placed the ring upon her hand and wore it for the
night she and Vaughn had together before removing it and fencing it the next
day to split the spoils.

Kiara then used part of the money to purchase
immediate low passage from Cahabon to Kedron, hoping to elude Vaughn while
claiming the other package for herself.In
the hopes of finding a better margin of profit by fencing the other item on
Belaya, she purchased passage on my ship, since in previous conversations I had
indicated to her that was my intended destination.

On my authority, my crew opened the other
package.It contained a masculine
white-gold ring with the emblem of House Gascoyne surrounded by rubies and
diamonds.Further examination revealed
it to be an assassination weapon containing more of the nanites that bear the
neurotoxin that afflicted Ms. Atari.

Given their relative beauty, I can only
assume the rings were intended as a gift for you and your wife with the intent
of either assassination or as a scare tactic to cloud your judgement in other
matters.I have seen to securing the
ring I have here to neutralize its danger.The other ring should be located, if possible, as it may have the potential
to inflict more harm upon the populace of Cahabon or other worlds of the
Imperium.

After a brief layover on Leven to refuel, I
intend to make haste to Belaya.Ms.
Atari has been placed in cryonic hibernation until such time as your planet’s
advanced medical facilities can effectively treat her condition, as I suspect
you will wish to debrief her at length regarding this matter.I and my crew will be at your disposal and
are prepared to aid you in whatever ways we can in this matter.

Sunday, March 11, 2018

A Sinister Situation on Sebou

349-1107, aboard Golden Dawn, in hyperspace between Sebou and Kedron

--from the personal journal of Baronet Atopia Kesslering

All of us veterans of Imperial military service talk
about the kinds of sacrifices we’ve made over our careers for the good of the
Imperium.Some of us, I think, proclaim
them just a little too loudly and a little too often – until we come face to
face with someone who has literally given everything they had.It’s a punch in the gut when you see somebody
who’ll never recover from their injuries, may never regain consciousness, never
get any recognition, never even get thanked for their efforts.And all your pride just falls away, knowing
that some of them gave far more than you ever did.

I should be in bed.But that image haunts me tonight – a young man whose broken body is
being kept alive by medical technology in a hospital’s intensive care unit on a
world dozens of parsecs from his home – a young man who cannot even lay claim
to his own name for the good of the Imperium.

How many drinks does this make tonight – four or
five?It doesn’t seem to matter.I had to shed crocodile tears for him to
maintain my cover story, but tonight I do feel like crying.Every time the image appears in my head, I
feel sick.I feel like all the accolades
that have been heaped upon me are empty, meaningless things in comparison to
what that young man has lost.

I still have a report to write, of course – that’s what I’m
dreading doing.Somehow, I have to
dispassionately relate the events of the past few days to the man’s superior so
that he can take swift action to bring those responsible for his condition to
justice and end their schemes.I want to
be there when these terrorist sympathizers and collaborators are brought before
the Moot and make them answer for their crimes, make them answer for what they
did to him.

This all started two long, strange weeks ago when one of
my passengers on our transit from Sespe to Cahabon asked to see me privately on
an urgent matter.Commander Oliver
Greene of Imperial Naval Intelligence presented his credentials and apologized
for imposing upon a Defender of the Imperium.

“We’ve lost contact with one of our agents on Sebou,
Lieutenant Milo Turner,” he told me.“He
is now three weeks overdue with his latest progress report and that probably
means trouble.Lt. Turner was
investigating whether arms from one of Count Abdeslam Sebou’s factories were
somehow making their way into the hands of Ine Givar operatives in this
subsector.Evidence from a recent attack
claimed by the group supports this notion, but Milo was looking for concrete
evidence of it.

“In broad strokes, Imperial Naval Intelligence needs you
to find Lt. Turner, assess the situation as to whether he can be extracted
without exposing the investigation, extract him or recover and extract the
information he’s collected during the investigation.Discretion in this matter is paramount – if
you or the mission is compromised we’ll have nothing to show for over a year’s
worth of work.

“Turner was operating under the alias Winfred Owens, a
buyer for an import/export firm on Logone – the mercenary market being what it
is there, and all.I’ll be waiting for
you on Kedron with a team of operatives in case there’s anything else that
needs doing.I thank you in advance and
good luck to you.”

Commander Greene didn’t bother with goodbye when he left
the ship, leaving me and my crew scrambling to get our commerce on Cahabon done
and dusting off again in less than twenty hours.It would have been sooner, but Kim ran afoul
of the local authorities for dumping out her drink somewhere other than an
authorized water reclamation station.The upside was that other than spending four hours in a holding cell and
being issued a warning citation, she got to chatting with one of the other
law-breakers about Sebou.During the
transit, she went over it all with me so I wouldn’t be jumping into the
situation completely blind.

Sebou is a marvel of environmental engineering with its
domed cities situated in craters on the planet’s surface.Olivia commented that it reminded her of
Yantra, where they use a similar arrangement.All semblance to that world ended when we stepped into Abdeslamdome for
the first time.Minarets and walls
covered in brightly colored mosaics of ceramic tiles met our gaze as modern
architecture merged with a culture brought by the first Solomani settlers.Turbans may be out of style in the rest of
Imperial space – owing to the unpopularity of the Zhodani – but those and fezzes
with golden and silver tassels and brightly colored headscarves for the women
were all the rage with the locals.

As much of a distraction as the local color was, I hardly
paid attention to it while conducting my business, waiting for Tabitha to wade
through the local news archives, looking for any mention of Winfred Owens.It took a few hours of digging, but she finally
pulled up a report of a public transportation accident in Erminadome, a city nearly
four hundred kilometers away from the starport.

I took Samantha, Kim, Tabitha and Winston with me to visit
the young lieutenant at the city’s central medical facility.I’ll give Count Abdeslam credit; he doesn’t
skimp when it comes to medical services because Milo was getting the best that
tech level eight could muster.I was in
my Fiona Paxton identity, playing the part of a shocked and saddened sister of
the unfortunate Mr. Owens.I played
Winston as my husband, hiding my face against his chest until I could bring
tears to my eyes.The rest of the group,
mutual friends, looked suitably saddened to allay Dr. Kamal Udan’s suspicions.

The act continued as we visited the office of Police
Detective Sallah Yawani, the man who’d investigated the accident.He expressed sincere condolences that while
he considered the incident a homicide, he had no proof that would stand up in
court and no suspects.He’d grilled Occala
Dar, the tram driver, for nearly six hours, but ultimately got no information
that brought him any closer to any suspects.

“The forensic evidence supports that somebody either
bumped into him or pushed him onto the maglev track,” said the detective, “but
there is no case to be made beyond that.Mr. Owens was on a part of the transfer platform that was out of direct
view of any of the other people waiting there and nobody was seen leaving the
vicinity after the tram hit him.I am
very sorry that I do not know more.”

I thanked Detective Yawani for his efforts as he produced
Milo’s effects from the hotel room in which he’d been staying.I had to make another show of grief upon
seeing the few things he’d brought to this world.We had to wait until we could get back to the
privacy of the Golden Dawn to give them a thorough going-over.

Tabitha swore vehemently as she probed the memories of
Milo’s pocket computer and dataslab.“Their
memories have been wiped with a targeted virus program,” she spat as she tossed
both units aside.“I don’t even have
fragmental data in either one of them to work with.Whoever we’re up against knows how to hide
their digital fingerprints.”

Samantha had better luck going through Milo’s luggage and
toiletries – finding a set of instructions regarding maintenance and operation
of a wetware system, even if she didn’t immediately understand what it
was.“It means Milo’s got a
microcomputer implanted in the base of his skull,” said Winston, “interfaced to
his brain.It’s amazing what they
can do with nanotech these days.”

Winston had reviewed Milo’s medical records and said
there was a very good chance the chip was intact.Given that Milo was working for INI, it was
probably mounted flush to the inside of the back of his skull – where tech
level eight diagnostic and imaging systems wouldn’t find it.“We’ll need a microchip scanner to access its
data,” said Winston, “as well as a security code.”

Olivia had been helping Samantha search Milo’s
belongings, but had been distracted by a multi-function utility knife.I was about to tell her to put it down before she
cut herself when she showed me the back of the main knife blade.Carefully scribed into the metal was a tiny sixteen
digit alphanumeric that I had to hold just so to read.

Tabitha pulled an all-nighter to put together the
microchip scanner and make it small enough for it and her pocket computer to ride
in a specialty clutch purse.“It has a
network of copper wire and metal-impregnated plastic between the shell and
interior sleeve,” she explained as we headed out the next morning.“It’ll fool just about any scanner or imaging
device they have here on Sebou.”

John went with us and kept an eye on the hallway as
Tabitha went to work, gently sliding the scanner blade under Milo’s head while
I made another show of weeping to keep the curious at bay.It took a couple of minutes to download the
contents of its memory, but it worked.I
should have known it was a bit too easy.

As we were leaving the hospital, I happened to glance to
the side in the lobby and saw a man looking back at me.His eyes widened and he bolted for a side exit.“John!” I yelled and pointed in the direction
of the other’s flight.John vaulted a
couch and bowled over three people in his haste to catch our watcher.Tabitha and I shouted apologies in his wake
as we struggled to keep up.

The watcher darted through the crowded pedestrian
walkways, ducking and avoiding collisions, while John bulled along behind, knocking
people to the ground who didn’t move fast enough.The watcher was extending his lead as he
reached an arched bridge, but stumbled and fell as he got tangled up in a
leashed pet and its owner.John put his
head down and leapt over the tangle of owner and pet, nearly within reach of
the man…

And then it all went wrong.

The watcher dodged aside as John tried to grab him,
whirled to double back when he saw me rushing toward him.Somehow, I’d conjured my body pistol into my
hand and I had his face perfectly framed in its plastic sights.John was turning, pushing off from the rail
of the bridge he’d caught himself on after the watcher had ducked him.The watcher didn’t hesitate.He vaulted the rail.

“NO!” I screamed as he fell from view.John grabbed the rail and looked down for
just a moment until I reached him.

He held up an arm to bar my way.“Another ten centimeters and I could have
caught him,” said John as he turned to face me.“Forty meters to the pavement below,” he added with a toss of his head
toward the railing, “dead on arrival.”

“Find us a way down there before the authorities get to
him,” I said as I quickly holstered my pistol under my jacket.“I want to know who he was.”

The watcher was Occala Dar, the tram driver that had run
over Milo four weeks ago.Mr. Dar also
had worker passcards for both the public transit system in Erminadome and as a
shipping department worker for Phalanx Military Industries – an arms manufacturer
owned by Lady Aya Sebou, a niece of Count Abdeslam.We got clear before the police arrived and
started asking questions we didn’t want to answer.

Back at the ship, the data we’d pulled from Milo’s head
was all images, so the chip was interfaced to the optical cortex of his
brain.Most of the images were of
computer displays.On these I found
myself on very familiar ground – they were shipping manifests.Somebody at Phalanx was slipping additional
lots of weapons into shipments being made to Redlane Import/Export House on
Nullica, and had been doing so for at least three years.

The remaining few images were of faces, blurred with rage
and determination – two men and a woman.The uniforms fell in line with the corporate togs worn by working types
at Phalanx.After processing the images
with the enhancement program she’d obtained from the Imperial Navy, Tabitha
hacked the government’s worker registration database and put names to the
faces.All of them worked in the shipping
department of Phalanx as well.

The final image on the chip was the onrushing tram,
barely three meters away.Milo had seen
his death coming and had recorded it, so there would be no doubt – loyal to the
end.

As soon as we had that, I made the decision to get off
Sebou as quickly as possible.They had
found us and we had no idea how many more were involved.With Occala dead, they probably are already
in the process of sanitizing the operation.Commander Greene may not have anything to clean up by the time my report
gets to him…

***

“Hey,” said a voice behind her.Atopia closed her journal book and set the
stylus down beside her on the lounge couch.Winston sat down on the other side of her, sliding his arm around her
shoulders.She gratefully laid her head
upon his chest.“Can’t sleep?” he asked.

She shook her head.“I keep seeing him in that hospital bed,” she
said.

“Yeah,” he replied, “It got to me, too.I hate saying it, but there were more than a
few people I couldn’t save.The injuries
were too great or the disease too far advanced, etcetera, etcetera. Their death masques visit me occasionally.”

“But they go away, right?” Atopia asked.

“They do,” he said with a sigh.“Sweetheart, Milo was dead as soon as that
tram ran over him.I reviewed his case
files while we were at the hospital.He’s
got brain trauma that not even the best neuro-regenerative treatments on
Narmada can fix.They might get him
functional, but that’s about all they would manage.Milo – that part of him that makes him a
unique human being, his thoughts, his memories, his feelings and everything
else that made him special – are gone.All that’s left is the biology with enough brain to keep it running.”

“What do you do,” she asked as she pulled him
a tighter to her, “when a face won’t go away?”

He gently kissed her forehead.“Have a drink or two and find somebody to
hold until it finally does go away.”

“Let’s go to bed,” Atopia said after a moment,
“in one of the high passage cabins.”

He eased her to her feet as he stood, guiding
her along.“Samantha will complain about
the mess in the morning,” he said with a smile.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

A Traveller's Guide to the Belaya Subsector

Overview

The Belaya Subsector is the
crossroads of the Wayhaven Sector – a dense cluster of star systems along the
trailing edge of the Third Imperium.Dominated by the Wayward Main – a string of star systems that are only one
parsec apart – the Belaya Subsector is often referred to as a merchant’s
paradise.Being the only high technology
industrial world in the subsector, the subsector capital world does very brisk
business indeed.

There are thirty-nine worlds in the
subsector and all but two can be reached with Jump-1 technology.The highest population world is Belaya (1012)
with a staggering 23.8 billion residents.There are two other worlds with populations over twenty billion as well
– Deua (1515) and Kennet (0914).Total
population for the subsector is estimated at 73.6 billion residents.

The highest technological level is
TL 14 on Belaya. There is one world that is classified as a Red Travel Zone by
our organization - 408‑822 (1413) – which is interdicted by the Imperial Navy
for reasons that are classified.There
are also four worlds classified as Amber Travel Zones – Kagera (1019), Kupa
(0913), Nullica (1315) and Zezera (1015).

There are eight naval bases in the
subsector as well as fourteen scout bases, so pirate activity is minimal at
best, allowing for the grand tradition of adventure and discovery through
travel!So pack your luggage and prepare
to be dazzled by the splendors of the galaxy, just a few jumps away as we tour
the Belaya Subsector!

404-822 (1413 X356000-0) *Red Zone*

This
nameless world suffered through a cataclysmic collision with another body
roughly half its own size late in its development, displacing materials from
the planetary core.The result is
significant amounts of radioactivity at surface level, which will prevent any
human habitation for at least a thousand years.

Amur (1517 D596303-3)

The
four thousand residents of Amur are typically counting the days until they can
return to their home worlds. The Imperium makes contracts with people to occupy
this world – operating the starport and scout base, along with all the
businesses that cater to merchants from off world.

Athabasca (1215 C400534-A)

This
airless moon of one of the system’s two gas giants serves as a base of
operations for extensive asteroid mining of the two planetoid belts found
here.A true “Belter’s Paradise,” the
residents here are rugged independents who work and play hard, so casual
visitors had best be on their guard when in public.

Belaya (1012 A412AED-E)

Most
people would think that a religious autocracy would be oppressive and
inflexible. Belaya proves that it doesn’t have to be, though it does take some
serious adaptation to get used to the fact that EVERYONE is not only
concernedabout one’s welfare, but
actively motivated to improve it for them whether they want it or not…

Boros (1419 B662533-B)

“Follow
the water and you’ll find the people,” is a local proverb stemming from the
scarcity of liquid water here.The
plutocratic government in place here makes most of its money selling dihydrous
at the starport and to the IISS base located here.

Cahabon (1313 C664657-4)

Water
conservation and its judicious use made this dry world green and
productive.Wasting water is a very
serious offense here, as is the highly profitable practice of smuggling water
for private use to avoid the government’s exorbitant usage fees…

Devi (1119 C868957-9)

The
Society of Guilds rules this idyllic, earthlike world.This is not surprising since the vast
majority of the original colonists were pureblood Villani.As such, synchronicity is the keyword for
both the government and daily life here – with very little room for
non-conformists…

Driva (0917 B764321-9)

This
pleasant but sparsely-populated world is home to the descendants of a
colonization effort from Terra that misjumped here nearly a thousand years
ago.There are rumors that another indigenous
race lived here before the colonists arrived, but what happened to them remains
a mystery.

Deua (1515 D330AEC-A)

With
just over twenty billion residents, this small world has literally been made a
desert by urban sprawl.Water
importation isn’t legal, but the money it can bring to a bootlegger often
tempts merchants who are behind on their payments to give it a try…

Epte (1318 D11079C-7)

The
subterranean complexes that are home to the ten million residents of this world
are situated in mined out areas that were excavated hundreds of years ago.The carefully managed environments are a
marvel of this planet’s limited technology, as is its ability to continuing
mining nearly twenty kilometers below the surface…

Gara (1320 C448565-6)

This
world is the personal fief of Baroness Odelina von Gara, who is spending much
of her family’s and her personal fortune on terraforming her namesake world’s
atmosphere into a more breathable condition.It has become something of an obsession and she has entertained a number
of crackpots over the years who have promised results faster than Imperial
planetary engineers – and have all failed to deliver.

Gers (1011 B200840-7)

This
small, airless world’s population lives underground in mines that were excavated
over one-hundred thousand years ago and still maintain a viable biosphere to
this day.This has attracted biologists
and archaeologists from all over the sector for decades. Of course, there are
rumors of more than one species of mega-predator living in the unexplored
depths…

Glomma (1014 B692412-7)

The
Chartered Glomma Corporation (an Imperium-funded enterprise) is both the
primary employer and government of this dry, dusty world.The CGC supports the operation of the scout
base here by providing raw supplies and ground support personnel, but also
manages the rest of the planetary economy.Charges of widespread corruption are largely dismissed.

Jabal (1518 A8A7510-D)

This
inhospitable world only recently became such after a massive volcanic eruption.A vast majority of the population has moved
to space habitats orbiting Jabal to wait out the aftermath.Many of these habitats have run out of room,
leading to several taking multiple round trips to nearby star systems, waiting
for the skies to clear.

Kagera (1019 B43089D-7) *Amber Zone*

“Better
to have one friend than a thousand credits” are words to live by when dealing
the multiple and often conflicting levels of bureaucracy here.The Kagera underworld is not so much about
contraband as it is about expediting solutions to problems that can tie up
people and businesses in red tape for years…

Kalgan (1417 B8A6554-7)

Planetary
engineers are working to increase the overall breathable oxygen content of this
world’s atmosphere.While the world’s
oceans are mildly acidic, they are also richer in deuterium making unrefined
fuel from here less dangerous to use than usual.The planet has extensive hydrocarbon reserves
as well, allowing it produce mass quantities of plastics and petroleum
products.

Kama (1611 E311A9B-7)

The
bureaucratic government here prevents untold billions of its population from
emigrating to other worlds by insisting that anyone leaving must pay up what
the government could tax them over their lifetime.Needless to say, there is a highly profitable
market here for smuggling people off this rock, with suitably draconian
penalties for getting caught…

Kedron (1311 C220100-7)

This
world is home to an automated refueling station that serves IISS starships and
civilian craft with the ability to pay for unrefined fuel produced by chemical
treatments of this planet’s crust.Only
four people live here on a permanent basis – the station caretaker and his
wife, and their two children – who occasionally invite starship crews to join
them for dinner.

Kennet (0914 E383A65-7)

This
small moon of a gas giant is the personal fief of Baron Baldwin von Kennet,
whose family has spent the previous seven generations ruthlessly mining out its
valuable raw materials.Now left with
only common industrial minerals to mine, the Baron has turned to other,
less-than-legal means to carry on his family’s estate…

Kupa (0913 B536474-A) *Amber Zone*

The
factionalized clans of Kupa have broken out into open warfare three times over
the past decade, however this isn’t anything new.The clans all have long-standing grievances
with each other ranging from trivial to financial to reasons so old they’ve
been lost to antiquity.

Leven (1111 C200100-A)

The
IISS maintains this automated starport facility which is little more than a
refueling stop and trading post along the Wayward Main.Rumors of Ancients’ artifacts being found
here a century ago have failed to inspire more than a few foolhardy souls to brave
this system’s treacherous planetoid belt.

Lim (1218 B200497-A)

The
inhabitants of Lim City, the only settlement on this small vacuum planet, are
here to support the operations of both the IISS and Imperial Navy bases.This is a favorite port of call for merchants
as well, as fees, supplies and taxes are on the low side as well, while there
are many diversions for their crews.

Logone (1617 BAC6520-8)

Sulfur
gas mining is this world’s primary business.The one-hundred thousand residents are all members of the Logone
Consortium, which is a corporate collective.However, most residents have side businesses (usually considered
less-than-legal elsewhere in the Imperium) to afford some of life’s luxuries…

Loing (1516 B3808A9-9)

This
mountainous desert world sees extensive use as a training area for Imperial
Marines and Army members, as well as having a number of orbital and aircraft
bombing ranges.The Scout base has a
repair and refit facility that services both active and detached duty
starships.

Mengrenel (1415 A365445-9)

The
starport facilities on Mengrenel are some of the best in the subsector, even if
most of the starship and spacecraft components come from elsewhere and are
merely assembled here.The planet is
pleasant enough for casual tourists and starship crews, with many independent
starship owners registering their ships as a “flag of convenience” due to the
low fees here.

Nagavalli (0911 B653434-9)

Nagavalli
is a hotbed of archaeological activity, though most of the more interesting
sites are over ten-thousand kilometers away from the capital city of this
world.Safaris into the vast wilds of
this world are a popular draw for tourists who look for adventure off the
beaten path.

Nogoa (0920 B565262-8)

The
personal fief of the legendarily reclusive Contessa Leandra Nogoa is home to
her and her personal staff, with a skeleton crew to operate and maintain the
starport, much of which has been shut down on a nearly permanent basis.

Nullica (1315 C797300-5) *Amber Zone*

It
is not that there isn’t a legal
system or law enforcement on this world, but rather that the existing system is
so corrupt that, for all practical purposes, it doesn’t exist.Rightly so, this world has been given an
Amber Travel Code by the Travellers’ Aid Society – visitors should endeavor to
appear less affluent than they are and to pay any “fines” or “fees” levied by
local officials promptly, courteously and without the slightest hint of
displeasure, sarcasm or objection.

Pigna (1219 B787622-5)

The
fiercely independent populace of this world rarely agrees on any subject, save
one – agriculture.The mild climate of
this world combined with the nearly unceasing labor of its residents allows for
highly impressive harvests despite the planet’s relatively low technological
level.This has led to a number of
unscrupulous tactics between rival farms up to and including murder…

Prohova (1115 A32367A-B)

The
residents of this world have learned to make do with what little is offered, so
when its scientists hit upon the idea of reclaiming materials from the waste of
other worlds, the government and its citizens began to profit. However, decades
of toxic waste buildup have begun to take its toll on the citizenry and
landscape, motivating several political factions to demand action – forcefully,
in some cases.

Rahue (1414 C510421-5)

The
thirty thousand residents here work together to support themselves against what
would otherwise be a hostile environment.All of this work has made this world a haven for anachronistic
technology as unusual applications abound, luring both curious tourists and engineers
from across the subsector.

Rance (1612 C7C16A9-3)

To
Imperial scientists, it is obvious that the humanoid race that calls this world
home was genetically engineered to survive the extreme environmental conditions
here.The questions they’re trying to
answer now is who and when, with the most likely answer being The Ancients…

Sebou (1312 D304967-8)

This
airless world is the personal fief of Count Abdeslam Sebou who is in the
business of supplying lower tech level armies with the weapons and machines of
war.Outside the domed craters of this
world’s crowded cities lies a polluted and toxic landscape filled with the
industrial waste products of the Count’s ambitions.

Sespe (1314 E444564-3)

This
world is the personal fief of Baron Inesno Sespe who has made it his immense
hacienda where a number of luxury spices, herbs and delicacies are lovingly
nurtured to command the premium prices he demands for them.The wine and spirits fermented here are
highly sought by other members of the Imperial peerage for official and social
functions.

Vaigai (1016 B345633-6)

This
agricultural world is still mostly wild, with only one of its nine continents
currently inhabited.The ruling body –
The Collective – has taken a “nature knows best” approach when it comes to
preserving its ecology, but many argue it has also fostered burgeoning wildcat
agriculture on the uninhabited continents that cultivates Imperial contraband.

Venta (1220 C676335-5)

The
residents of this world are serfs in the service of the Venta family which has
made its name in producing anagathic compounds that rival the high-end
synthetics produced by the Imperium.A
forty-year contract gives the worker food, shelter and a lifetime supply of the
refined anagathics from here upon successful completion of the contract.

Vicha (1117 B541401-C)

This
world’s twenty-thousand residents either work for the Vicha Water Works, the
starport or one of the businesses that support it – since there is little else
here.Tourists come here to marvel at
The Contours, an intricate series of wind-carved canyons and mountains about
three hundred kilometers from the main starport.

Warnow (1018 A202833-D)

While
it isn’t an industrial powerhouse, this world’s government is looking to make
it one by creating very enticing incentives – some of which are both illegal
and immoral, according to those who oppose the government.

Zezere (1015 B56667B-8) *Amber Zone*

The
Zezere Agricultural Cooperative has seen increasing discord from its members as
it has lost citizenry to the Independent Landowners Association Movement.The differences have been stark and violent
enough over the past few years to warrant the Amber Travel Code, due to random
acts of terrorism and mass demonstrations that often turn violent.